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19 August 2015
New Probe Can Monitor Shock from Hemorrhages without Drawing Blood
New Probe Can Monitor Shock from Hemorrhages without Drawing Blood
In Initial Tests, Novel Near-infrared Spectroscopy Device Assesses Shock Severity as Accurately as a Standard Blood Draw, without a Single Needle Prick
The researchers describe the work in a paper in The Optical Society's journal, Biomedical Optics Express.
"When I spoke with doctors and patients in hospitals, I had a strong desire to help them with my technologies," said Ting Li, associate professor, State Key Lab of Electronic Thin Film and Integrated Device, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, in Chengdu. "The standard method to monitor shock is invasive, discontinuous, and time-consuming," she said, prompting her and her colleagues to develop technology to improve the procedure; ultimately saving lives.
Li's previous work has consisted of developing a muscle oxygenation monitor, a diffuse optical correlation spectroscope for measuring blood flow and a near-infrared spectroscope for measuring brain activity.
When Li and her colleagues turned to shock monitoring, they considered an array of blood-oxygen indices to test for shock – oxygen delivery, oxygen consumption, blood lactate levels, central venous oxygen saturation, artery oxygen saturation, partial pressure of oxygen, and pulse oxygen saturation – but only the last can currently be done noninvasively.
To develop their new monitoring device the researchers used a technique called near-infrared spectroscopy, or NIRS. NIRS uses the diffuse reflectance and absorption of near-infrared light to obtain information about the molecular composition of a sample. It's particularly effective at measuring hemoglobin levels and has seen widespread use as a screening tool for intracranial bleeding.
Current technologies for measuring pulse oxygen saturation include finger scanners, but as the fingertips are at the periphery of the circulatory system, these can give inaccurate readings for an ICU patient with reduced circulation.
The researchers' NIRS device consists of a probe with two detectors and a triple-LED that emits light at wavelengths of 735, 805 and 850 nanometers. Since the gold standard for measuring blood-oxygen levels is oxygen saturation at the central vena cava, where a catheter would be attached, they placed the probe on the skin above the internal jugular vein. The researchers used ultrasound to guide the placement of the probe on the skin right over the patients' veins.
To test their device's accuracy at correlating the reflected wavelengths of light with blood oxygen saturation, Li and her colleagues compared its results against the standard catheter system, in which blood is drawn and analyzed, in 25 patients exhibiting shock at intensive care unit of Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai, China, finding that finding that it agreed closely with the current method.
Future work for Li and her colleagues includes developing wireless and cellphone-controlled NIRS devices for shock monitoring, as well as devices for monitoring functional brain activities, breast tumor growth and thrombosis.
Ting Li, Meixue Duan, Kai Li, Guoqiang Yu, and Zhengshang Ruan, “Bedside monitoring of patients with shock using a portable spatially-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy,” Biomedical Optics Express 6, 3431 – 3436 (2015).
About Biomedical Optics Express
Biomedical Optics Express is OSA’s principal outlet for serving the biomedical optics community with rapid, open-access, peer-reviewed papers related to optics, photonics and imaging in the life sciences. The journal scope encompasses theoretical modeling and simulations, technology development, and biomedical studies and clinical applications. It is published by The Optical Society and edited by Joseph A. Izatt of Duke University. Biomedical Optics Express is an open-access journal and is available at no cost to readers online at www.OpticsInfoBase.org/BOE.
About The Optical Society
Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and entrepreneurs who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. OSA is a founding partner of the National Photonics Initiative and the 2015 International Year of Light. For more information, visit: www.osa.org.
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